I'm The Expert Here!
by Fanfiction Kage
Summary: Kiyo Nara, a sarcastic, cantankerous Tokubetsu Jonin with a specialty for assassinating enemies very quickly and efficiently, is assigned on a mission to be escorted by the Kazekage to an extremely important formal meeting with the other Kage about peace keeping to get rid of one of the guests. Gaara's stoic and argumentative mood leaves her wondering if he's hiding something...


"I trust you were able to handle the situation this time?"

"What are you talking about? I always 'handle the situation!'" My voice faltered slightly. Of course today had to be one of the days where my expertise was under appreciated. I leaned against the Kazekage's desk with one hand and pointed with the other hand at the documents I had placed in front of him. "I did everything that you asked me to... nothing more this time, I swear on my life!"

"Always?" Gaara had asked. His voice was definitely too calm for this confrontational thing. It never really scared me whenever he tried to reprimand me for my decisions. It mostly just annoyed me whenever he tried to question my methods.

"What about the time where you messed up and we had to help you take out an entire gang because you couldn't handle leaving the first body behind?"

"Hey, that doesn't count." I tried to defend myself, backing up a step and closing my eyes gently. "It was the first mission I did for you and Tsunade usually likes some... proof of what happened... B-besides!" I turned my head away sharply. My nose was turned up towards the air as I muttered "Why would they directly attack the village because they couldn't find one rookie's body?"

Gaara sighed, annoyed. "He was the leader's son. Your instructions were to not remove the body from the site. It was supposed to look as though he perished from a heart attack or something similar. How do you think I feel when you show up with the mans body delivered to me in a bag?"

I exhaled sharply, my eyebrows pulling together tightly. I didn't want him trying to skimp out on my pay. For a village with a slightly worse economy, the Sand really pays their ninja well. Actually, it's an extreme difference. I always wondered how the Leaf held up so much morale with such shitty pay. Tsunade's always tired of me offering to take the missions that require helping out in Suna, but I guess she was just happy that someone had some enthusiasm about taking any mission and that me going and helping out would aid in strengthening the alliance between the sand and the leaf.

"It wasn't like I just walked in with a body bag..." I blinked, my eyes focusing on a scrape that existed, cutting across the floor and reminding me of my own mangled body. "...I made sure to seal him in a scroll."

"You're extremely lucky that no one can hear this conversation."

I kept still in the same position as the kazekage flipped through a thin stack of papers, curiously stopping at a certain one towards the back. He read through it carefully, slightly squinting his eyes before finally placing the paper back down on his desk.

"You're getting paid in full for this mission, but I'll be able to pay you twice as much as this if you go on another one." he muttered, running a hand through his hair just to relieve some of the tension he had.

"Huh?" I looked over at him with slight curiosity. I could use all the pay I could get. "What kind of mission is it?"

"A-rank. I expect you to be able to handle it, of course. You won't be on your own, though."

"Who would I be partnered up with?" I asked, worried. I didn't know the style of most of the ninja in the village, so I couldn't really plan anything ahead of time. Usually I have a strong feel for who my partners are so I can at least think of some situations in which their techniques shall be needed or plan ahead so no one gets in each others way.

"Temari, Kankuro, and myself." He replied in his monotone voice, leaning back in his chair. It squeaked slightly as it brushed against the dry wooden flooring, amplified by the slightly dusty atmosphere caused by all of the sand.

"Yeah right!" I croaked out before covering my mouth and coughing a bit. Gaara didn't falter in the slightest and kept his hands laced and placed nearly on the table, which was solid wood as well as most of the other things in this building. "What would two other jonin and a KAGE need me there for?!"

Gaara frowned deeply, closing his eyes. "This village doesn't have many ninja that work exclusively in yout expertise."

"Wait..." I arched an eyebrow and tried to lean over closer to the desk to read the mission statement. "The deception part or the shado-"

"Are you going to do it or not?" He cut me off mid sentence, also firmly covering the paper with his hand. I glared intensely at him for a few pregnant moments, but ended up sighing and agreeing. I'm not desperate for money for my own personal gain, but I really needed to help my father pay for our expenses back in Konoha. Being stuck with a house far to large enough for anyone to comfortably afford meant that extra jobs were always appreciated.

"Good. Be ready tomorrow. I'll send Temari to collect you." He said emotionlessly, signing the papers in a careful manner. I stood there for a few more moments, wondering if he forgot about me having to sign them as as well. It was standard protocol for a ninja from a foreign village to sign such papers, as there needs to be written evidence of my compliance in case something goes wrong.

If he forgot, he desperately tried not to show it, not even looking up at me and instead shoving the pen that he held towards my direction, letting it roll until it stopped abruptly at the edge of the desk. I let a small smirk play upon my lips as I was humored by his childish mood, but nothing too noticeable that would get me in trouble.

As I tried to turn the papers towards me so I could take a closer look at them, I noticed his hand was back on top, and only the area at the bottom where my signature was required remained visible. I groaned, picking up the pen with my left hand and testing it out on the back of my hand.

"What are you having me sign up for?" I asked in the most serious tone I could muster, which was pretty impressive considering my already grouchy demeanor. I didn't want to seem too difficult to work with that I lost the job. "Am I signing away my life here?"

"No." Was the only reply I got out of the boy. I stood straight, glaring downwards at the top of the Kazekage's head.

"Tell me what I'm signing up for!" I ordered, my eyebrows pulling together and my mouth forming the tightest scowl possible. I mentally slapped myself, realizing that I was going to be reprimanded fiercely later on, but there was no going back now. What if he had decided to send me on a life long mission as a personal slave to some old stupid pervert? I've come very close in the past and I didn't feel like going back there again.

"... Listen." He sneered slightly, annoyed that this wasn't going as smoothly as planned. "Just sign it! You don't need to know what it is yet. Your life isn't being compensated by signing this paper!"

I was taken back, the anger leaving my face completely. His words rung in my head like a bell, suffocating my thoughts. Getting him angry really wasn't the best idea, him being an ex-Jinchuriki and all, he knew how to get angry. Personally him getting furious at me made me slightly angry as well, as that was how my temperament was naturally, but I also didn't want him to get mad at me just because of my own grudges. Still, there was something very sneaky going on, which was being made clearly obvious by my inability to even read the mission statement. I sighed, internally defeated.

"...promise?" I murmured, putting my hand on my opposite shoulder, looking down at the ground and blushing at the fact that I even have to ask.

"What?" He was surprised at my sudden change in demeanor, and he looked up at the awkward expression on my face.

The birds chirped away outside, and I wondered how they weren't scared away with all of the yelling before remembering the jutsu placed upon the room to make sure no one could hear what was going on inside. Of course there had to be some exception, though, right? They couldn't just trust the Kazekage alone with anybody. But then the reason he even is the Kazekage is because he is the strongest ninja in the village, so I guess he could beat anyone anyways. The sudden distractions going on in my mind erased the anger I held beforehand, so I continued to speak with a much more gentle tone, or so I thought.

"I shouldn't have to ask if I'm signing my free will away or something. Honestly I should have the ability to read the mission papers, but since you're being protective of them, I'm assuming it's for a good reason. I just... I want you to be able to promise to me that I will not be signing away my life, free will, or freedom in general on this mission."

After a long and scary silence, I glanced back upwards.

"Nothing like that." He tried to play off having to promise to me, and pushed the papers closer to me, hands still covering them. "Except for the fact that you will be expected to follow my orders to a T. You must constantly stay in line or many people's futures could be at jeopardy."

I rolled my eyes and scribbled down my signature, which looked like chicken scratch in comparison to the others that were already placed down upon the page. He most likely was just trying to over emphasize the importance of the mission by embellishing it a little too much, but i felt it wasnt necessary as I was already going to do what he asked anyways, as I was pretty gulible when it came to him.

"Promise." I repeated in more of an ordering tone, which he did not appreciate.

"Get out."

"Promise!"

"GET OUT."

I nodded and bowed politely, which probably came off as mocking due to my extremely petite features contrasting with my cantankerous personality, before turning around to walk out of the office. After I had gotten past the door I let the emotions or regret and shock show upon my face.

What could possibly be on those damn papers that would make me unable to read them? I was MEANT to, after all, to know what mission I was getting into. I had until tomorrow to ponder it seemed, so I questioned his motives all the way back to my temporary housing. I'd been here for a couple of days so far, so I already knew where I was staying, and it was slightly nicer than the usual inn I stayed at in this sandy village, but still not up to par with regular every day living. I thought about what Tsunade would say, since she expected me to be back sometime soon, but I honestly had no clue how long this mission would be. Tsunade usually gets pissed by the time I come back from my missions anyways, though, because I'm usually returning about a week later than I had planed due to the ability to take more offers. I really was confused about this one, though.

Getting back to the small apartment, I sat in bed, still in my everyday clothes except for my shoes, and fell asleep quickly, feeling very lethargic at the moment. All of the wondering had tired my brain and drained me emotionally. I rubbed my face clean with a cloth found on a shelf and pushed my hair completely behind my back. Laying down, I pondered the possibilities of the secret mission until I finally convinced my brain to find some time for sleep.

I never really remembered my dreams much, and when I did it was usually based off of some current event that had happened recently, so whenever I woke up I was used to just remembering a blackness. That blackness sort of matched the color of the room, if it had not been partially and dimly lit by the night sky. I sat up and pulled my hands through my mousy brown hair that I usually had pulled over my right shoulder, and messed with my short bangs that never got in the way of my vision, no matter how ugly they looked. Not getting up from the bed yet I finally looked into the mirror and internally praised myself on how nicely I got my hair together without looking. I practiced this often in case I ever needed to do my hair in the morning on a mission with no mirror available. I know, I know, it seems very self absorbed, but it honestly just had to do with my profession. I am Kiyo Nara, a Tokubetsu Jonin of Konohagakure who uses false appearances to lure, trick, and annihilate the scum of the ninja nations that summoned me.

I stretched as far as I could across the bed, trying to obtain my bag from the floor. I grabbed onto one of the straps and pulled the entire thing on top of the blankets, pulling out a brush and makeup from one of the zipped up pouches. I painted on purple Hikimayu right above my already finely groomed eyebrows as I did every day, and I probably _could_ do a pretty good job at it without looking in the mirror, but this was something I was not going to leave to chance. I wiped off the makeup brush with the same cloth I wiped away the Hikimayu with in the first place and lazily threw it upon the floor, feeling slightly bad that I was starting to contribute to making the room a mess, but it didn't make me feel bad enough that I was going to pick it back up any time soon. I stood and threw the bag back on the floor and grimmaced when it made a loud thump as it landed pushed up against a wall.

Putting my shoes back on, I walked into the dining area of the small shelter of mine, wiping my eyes and checking the cabinets for something to munch on. I wasn't surprised to not find anything that I would consider edible. A knock at the door interrupted my uneventful searches.

Opening the door without taking care to check first, I had to take a step backwards when I witnessed Temari burst through the doorway with piles of fabric draped over her arms. She dumped the pile on the kitchen table a couple of feet away and glanced at me with a tiny smirk, which I countered with a raised eyebrow.

"... What is this?"

"Part of the mission." She responded, holding up two different sleeves of what appeared to be vibrantly colored and intricately detailed kimonos.

"... What does formal wear have to do with the mission?" I groaned slightly, grabbing a chair and sitting in it quickly. Looking out the window, I noticed the pinks and oranges staring to show through from between the buildings, reminding me of why the desert was so beautiful. The only good thing about the desert was how the sunsets seemed to be even more vibrant than usual, most likely due to the color of the sand amplifying the hues to a greater degree than grass ever could.

"What, _do you not know_?" Temari seemed just as confused as I did now while she sunk into the chair on the opposite side of the table. "This is gonna make things hard for me."

"Try being me." I sighed, stretching my arms upwards over my head while twisting to crack my back.

"Your _brother_," I started off sarcastically, rolling my eyes, "decided that he wasn't going to tell me any of the details about the mission. All he said was I was going to pay double and it involved you three."

Temari's eyebrows pulled together inquisitively, matching the emotions I felt on the inside.

"I don't get his reasoning sometimes. Unless he's embarrassed." she blinked slowly.

"I guess I can tell you the mission details if you want, though..." Temari added on in more of a hushed tone.

"Could you?" I begged, pulling my hands through my hair once more to make sure it was free of tangles. I was extremely curious now that I heard that Gaara was embarrassed about something. That wasn't usually an occurrence. He reminded me of a rock, as horrible as that sounds. I meant it in the best way it can be taken, though, I swear.

"I guess I can," she grinned for a second, playing with the sash tied around her waist subconsciously. "I mean, you're gonna be going on it anyways. You kind of have to know at some point."

"Hah," I sighed. Sitting in the chair closest to me, I rested my upper body against the wall, eyeing the silk pile on the table. "Lay it on me."

"Okay," she started off, leaning a bit closer to me and covering the side of her face that faced the window with her hand. "Apparently there's this big shot guy that's very involved with the trades between the Sand, Mist, and a small village with great resources. Of course this asshole wants to work as our median, since he told us that the village isn't particularly fond of the ninja nations, " Temari crossed her legs in her usual provocative execution and continued speaking, "But apparently we found out that Fuzen, the nasty guy I mentioned a second ago, was taking a great share of our trades for himself. Moreso than we agreed upon in the finalized contract. So we sent some ninja out to go find out if what he's saying about the village is true, and apparently he told them that we don't want to work with them for some reason, and once that was cleared up we decided to make a trade contract with them directly and get Fuzen out of the deal but he didn't like that too much, apparently, so he decided to threaten us with his shitty little army. We recently sent more shinobi over to the Mist Village to inform the Mizukage and she came up with the idea to invite him to that really big meeting that's going on with the Kage and some high ranking Jonin and Chunin about improving country relations so we could 'sort out another contract', but actually in secret go and assasinate him once the event gets started."

"Ah!" I grinned, sitting up straight. "I was made for this mission!" Temari smirked at me in the cocky way she usually did, reminding me to calm down before I got loud. "Why would he be upset about telling me that?" I questioned, looking down at the kimonos and placing my arm next to them, seeing which one matched my skin color correctly.

"I don't know. Maybe he doesn't want to make it seem like a date or something." Temari laughed, pulling the fabrics away from my hands. "What are you doing?"

"Trying to figure out which one flatters me best. You guys wanted an expert and here I am. I'll choose for you as well," I held up swatches next to Temari's face, realizing that a nice red or a purple would do her good. "And a date?" I questioned, "But you guys are going too. How could he even think that?"

"I don't know, maybe because the Kage are usually accompanied by an 'aquaintance' of sorts, and you'll probably need to stay _very_ close to him the whole time anyways to relay information," Temari snatched the deep wine colored kimono out of my hands and stood up quickly, looking at it in it's entirety. "This one? Really?" She asked, looking at and admiring the plum colored embroidery that embellished the hems of the ensemble. I nodded and she turned towards me, watching with doubt as I picked up a greyish hued kimono with a purple undertone. "It's understated but it's classy." I defended with a slight pout, pulling it close to my chest.

"I never said anything." Temari chuckled and pulled the rest of the clothes into a pile, almost forgetting about them completely. She looked about ready to leave, so I went and grabbed my bag from my room, pulling out a small snack made for emergency situations, and the fact that this house had absolutely no food in it made me really tempted to open it.

"Sh! Put that away!" She swatted the air. I did as I was told and looked at her questioningly. "The two of us are going to go get something to eat together before we have to meet up with the others."

Nodding, I left the house with the Kunoichi, not even taking care to lock the door as I was too hungry to even think about something as trivial as locking the door to a home that wasn't even mine and had nothing in it. We walked for a little bit and pushed ideas for meals back and forth but eventually settled for some miso soup at a small but friendly looking booth. The man that worked there seemed to be very well aquainted with Temari as he asked if she wanted the regular before we even sat down, but she responded with "Not today Ryomaru. We're just getting miso soup."

"What's your regular?" I asked, pushing myself onto one of the stools.

"Natto." Temari replied, a little bit embarassed.

"Ew." I looked over at her like she was crazy, wondering how she could ever consume such a disgusting looking meal.

"I know, I know, so, lets get back to talking about the mission." She smiled, leaning back in her stool. I nodded, thinking about what kind of questions I should ask without the other two around.

I finally settled upon "Have you ever been to one of these things?"

"What things?" Temari asked, sitting with her arms crossed over her chest and Kimono piled high on her lap.

"You know, these fancy-ass events. The ones where basically only the Kage are allowed to speak freely and all of the other guests have sticks up their ass and the music sucks." I sighed, attempting to make my feet touch the ground as I sat in the stool, but it wasn't working too well.

"Ah. No... I can't say I have." Temari shook her head as the young looking man named Ryomaru came out with the miso soup. We took a moment to admire how good it looked before forgetting out conversation completely and just dug into our meal like savages. Temari was apparently as hungry as I was, but she hid it very well. The smell of broth filtered through the air around us, surrounding everyone with a heavenly and inviting aroma. We chatted with the man named Ryomaru. I learned that he was a 25 year old chef, taking over the family business now that his father was sick. I told him that he reminded me of the girl working in Ichiraku Ramen back in Konoha and he laughed, saying that Miso soup is better than ramen. I didn't know how to counter that, so I simply laughed and continued to eat in joy.

As we were just beginning to finish up, the sound of footsteps approached us from behind followed up with the firm pressure of someones hands on our heads. I sighed, knowing immediately who it was before he even layed his hands on our heads. His chakra was very dense and plain, as well as very evenly distributed. And, well, another identifying factor was how big his hands were.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't the two delinquents." Kankuro said teasingly, rapping me on the head with his index finger.

"What do you mean?" Temari sneered, pushing her little brother's hand off of her head. He sighed, placing his hands on my shoulders with a very firm pressure. Tapping his foot lightly he stood in silence for a couple of moments until Gaara stormed in and handed enough money to Ryomaru to pay for our meals.

"You're an hour late!" He growled, storming out of the booth. We all frantically ran out after him, wide eyed and scared out of our minds. A trail of colorful textiles trailed behind Temari and fluttered in the light breeze, a contrast to the worried expression that played on her face. I ran out behind her and attempted to keep up without looking too nervous while Kankuro lazily trailed behind me. Kankuro was probably mad at me for not speaking with him earlier about 'business' as he liked to call it. Back at home I work in my father's weapon shop making parts and stocking the shelves and Kankuro would usually ask me to bring him something specific on my next visit and he would reward me with specialty poisons containing extracts from dangerous plants that only grew out here in the desert. This time, however, I completely forgot and decided not to address my lack of puppet parts in case he actually doesn't remember and he's just acting a little bit crabby today. Temari dropped off all but two of the kimonos into the arms of what seemed like a seasoned Jonin waiting on guard near the village enterance. He met Temari's glance with a wink and she awkwardly smiled at him before rejoining the rest of us. I wanted to giggle a bit, noticing how Temari was so popular with the boys, but I knew it definitely wouldn't be appropriate at this time.

"An hour?" Temari asked. "_Are you sure_?" Apparently neither of us really had an idea about how much time we had really spent enjoying our morning meals. I cowered slightly, trying very hard to not make eye contact with anyone. Apparently it was working since no one addressed me outright. Gaara wore a stern look on his face, which was slightly flushed red with anger.

"Yes I'm _sure_." He snapped, hands balling into tight fists of rage. He spoke very monotone as usual but the hostility was definitely apparent in his voice. "We have to keep up appearances with the Mist Village. In case you weren't aware, we are not on very friendly terms with them. We can't look incapable or else we risk the already fine lines that keep us from going into war. Now because of this we have to work extra hard to get there on time."

I contemplated staying silent and not risking him losing his temperment with me, but I decided a proper apolgy was necessary for this predicament. I mean, Temari never actually told me when we needed to meet up, but I still felt partially responsible. Gaara's chakra was moving very quickly through out his body, a feature I have come to recognize as rage.

"Sorry." I muttered, easily keeping up with the fast set pace that started from the gates and into the desert. I cared about Gaara so much, and thought really badly about the argument that we got into back in his office but I don't know if he actually knew that. I tried to explain it as best as I could, but I don't know if I was able to explain it correctly. I'm sure he could feel it, though, couldn't he? Couldn't he realize that I wanted him to be happy?

Usually whenever ninja from other villages had to travel to or past Sunagakure, they underestimated how hard it was to actually travel across the sand without it getting very uncomfortable very quickly. Shikamaru-San taught me that you had to push a little bit more chakra into your feet and sort of mold it into the crevices. It was kind of an awkward thing to explain out loud, but I got the hang of it very quickly and now whenever I traveled, it was exponentially easier.

Kankuro let out an amused "_Tch_." from behind me so I turned my head to glare at him, which he countered with a wide grin. I rolled my eyes and thanked the gods above that no one verbally abused me at this moment. We continued on in silence for a while, only the patter of our running footsteps and the limited sounds of nature providing some acoustic cushioning to this very awkward and depressing moment. I mentally scolded myself for not bringing a hair tie or something, for the wind was blowing my hair directly back into my face. I thought that making my bangs short was supposed to take care of that, but the long strands from the back were even making their way into my mouth. I quickly grabbed it into two parts that I tied into a knot at the nape of my neck, letting the short pieces in front continue to be a slight, yet manageable, bother. The sand started to scratch my open neck and left upper arm, so I pulled it up to fully cover my décolletage.

"What, did you forget that you were travelling through the desert?" Temari joked as she noticed me fondle with my appearance as a whole. I exhaled sharply, peering at her while still facing my head fowards.

"_No_. I just didn't expect the weather to be so _shitty_ today." Temari let out a guffaw, the mark of an experienced traveler of the sands.

"Here's a tip: The weather is _always_ shitty."

Gaara glared at us, which we could both feel without even looking at him directly, so we immediately stopped our mid-travel conversation, leaving us with the silence again. About an hour passed by with three of us exchanging awkward glances, longing for conversation. The sand completely surrounded us now, with the village being nowhere in sight. Not familiar with the paths that we were taking, since they didn't lead straight to Konoha, I would've been completely lost if I was on my own.

Mr. Pissed-Off-Kage's expression soften only so slightly that most probably wouldn't have noticed, but being aided by my very good affinity to sense chakra, I could tell he had calmed down quite a bit. My suspicions were confirmed as he started to make conversation with us. Well, it wasn't quite conversation, but it was quite a start. He started blurting out random facts of the mission and I had to pretend like Temari hadn't told me them before or else he would probably be mortified for all I know. That boy was unpredictable.

"He goes by Fuzen." Was one of the lines that he blurted out, so pretending to be interested by old information and hoping to learn some new info while also providing a break in the silence, I began to ask questions.

"Does he have a last name I should know about?"

"No."

More silence. This boy was killing me.

"He probably does. Fuzen most likely isn't his real name. I mean, _imperfect_? He's just a gambling drunk who thinks he's a business man on the weekends." Kankuro added, feeling safe enough to let out his first words since we had lef the village.

"Where is the gathering being held, exactly?" I asked, wondering how far we were travelling. Temari shrugged while Kankuro shook his head. I glanced over at Gaara, knowing he probably didn't want to talk to anyone when he didn't have to, but he still had enough will in him to respond to me. The wind started to stop, which was good as it meant the sand wasn't going to continue to forcibly exfoliate my face, but it was also bad, since it started feeling much hotter. I wiped the sweat off of my forehead with my sleeve.

"It's in the grey area between the Land of Fire and Kusagakure, so we have to go through The Land of Earth. Be on the lookout."

I let a little bit of a pained expression show on my face. Not only did Sunagakure not have good relations with Iwagakure, but...

"I'm in their bingo book."

"_What?_"

"I know. I _know_. It was about five or six months ago when I found out. Of course my bounty isn't that large, but still." I sighed, roling my eyes. It wasn't something I was proud of. To be honest it was an accident, and kind of embarassing.

"Why are you in it at all?" Kankuro asked, holding on to the straps of his bag. I wondered what he had packed to wear to the event for a moment before remembering to tell him my uncomfortable story on how I am considered a wanted individual.

"So I was on this mission, right? One of the usuals. I was supposed to be posing as a waitress for this geisha themed bar, if you catch my drift. It wasn't a very classy place to be around. Well I was supposed to locate this gentleman by the alias of Kushiki. It was in this small village near Konoha that was known as a Shinobi hotspot to get information, as well as a nice place for gambling and whores. Shukuba Town, if you've heard of it. Well, anyways, I was supposed to spike his drink if he told me a certain fact about Konohagakure that he definitely shouldn't know..." I looked down at the sand and cleared my throat before continuing, a bit embarassed by the events.

"Well, i'm obviously not going to tell you the secret, but he did, and so I spiked his drink and convinced him to leave with me, and he died. Well, _apparently_, he was not a bad man. According to Iwa he was just a shinobi who had relatives in Konoha and enjoyed visiting and having fun, and they accused me of wrongfully killing one of their men. After that, well, you can probably piece things together."

Temari closed her eyes. "That's just great."

I decided to make sure that my outfit covered the identifying scars along my back and left arm and took my hair down from its makeshift ponytail before continuing onwards, just as a precaution. It got quiet again and I immediately regretted saying anything at all. A few birds sung a plain sounding song as they courted each other in the sky.

I followed along patiently, thinking of a vast amount of topics in my head while the others most likely did the same. We continued on as a single and orderly unit until we got to the border of The Land of Earth some hours later. It was actually starting to get quite dark now, with the heat turning into a cool breeze and the sand turning into a light colored dirt. We filled our time with some small talk, sure that Gaara would probably prefer complete silence, but we still had to stop ourselves from going insane. Now that we were in uncharted territory, the mood completely changed from stoic boredom to being completely aware of our surroundings. Already having an inn picked out for us to spend the night, we paid for two rooms under the alias's of Gaara being Satoshi Hoshimura, Kankuro taking the name of Ryou Hoshimura, Temari being Hanako Kimura, and me being Misaki Okami. The boys obviously took rooms together while us girls had a room a little bit down the dimly lit hall.

Taking off our shoes, Temari and I sat down on the large bed we were expected to share. It was relatively soft; I mean, the one I have at home was softer, but it was still much more comfortable than some others i've spent the night in. I sat with my legs crossed over each other and went through my bag to look for something to use to wipe off my makeup. Temari placed her fan against the wall and started taking her hair out of its signature ponytails.

"So, I guess someone's a little pissy." I grinned, knowing that I could now speak freely. Temari laughed a little bit, blushing slightly at her fault.

"I didn't know we took so long, I _swear_!"

"I know, neither did I." I smiled, settling to wipe off my forehead on a spare bandage. If the time came where I really needed to use it, I don't think I'd mind using a slightly stained bandage. Temari pulled off her sash and undid her kimono while I walked over to the bathroom to relieve myself and make sure I got everything completely off of my face using the sink. Once I got into the slightly moldy smelling room, however, I realized that I could've used some toilet paper or a towel to wipe off my face and not have used the bandages. I sighed and finished what I had to before heading back into the room. Temari sat facing me, her legs crossed just as I had mine beforre, grinning wildly. With a raised eyebrow and a questioning expression I walked in front of her.

"So, I am admittedly not sleepy. And since I don't see you often, I decided that we are going to talk for a little bit before we get to sleep." The wooden floor creaked with the noises of people walking around in the rooms around us, and the cling of cups and happily drunken voices rang together from the room directly next to ours.

"Well, what if _I'm_ tired?" I asked, taking off my shoes and sitting on my knees in front of her. Temari's expression changed into a sour one, and I succombed to her wishes. "Fine, fine."

She grinned, thinking of questions in her head. Finally ddecciding on asking me about how thisngs were going back at home, I told her the truth.

"Pretty good. Once I get back, the money from this mission should probably get us much closer to paying off our house in full." Temari smiled, telling me about how she was excited to see how happy me and my father would be after we became debt free. I agreed with her, admitting that it would take a load of stress off of our shoulders.

"Will you still continue to work in the weapon shop?" she asked and I nodded assuringly, telling her of how it would just be more casually from now onwards.

We talked more about my home life and over time it switched to our social lives.

"So, I see you're pretty popular with the boys?" I teased, remembering the boy that winked at her near the village gates. Temari sighed, shaking her head disappointedly.

"Yeah _right_. All of the boys here that try to hit on me are perverts. I'm not even remotely interested in any of them." I laughed, asking her what kind of guy she was interested in, already knowing in my brain who I thought she was perfect with, but I wanted to hear her say it herself. Temari responded by saying "What's got you into such a mood? Are _you_ thinking of anyone special?"

"Don't try to spin this around onto me!" I retorted, crossing my arms over my chest. Glaring straight into Temari's eyes, she continued on with her ranting and teasing.

"Ha! It seems I hit a nerve, didn't I! Now tell me. You're quite a cute looking girl yourself. You know that. I bet tons of boys have their eyes on you. Now the real question is, who do you have your eyes on?"

I scoweled, shutting my eyes firmy and uncrossing my arms so that they supported my weight on the bed. "I don't have anyone that I'm trying to seduce or anything ridiculous like that. There's just people in this world that I deeply and truely care about and don't want to see get hurt." It was true. I mean, I was kind of holding some things out that she could proably put together if she thought hard enough, but everything I was saying was true. Temari stared blankly at me for a couple of moments, blinking once or twice.

"Makes sense." Temari replied, laying back on the bed and crossing one of her legs over the other. I frowned and sat in bed next to her, feeling upset that I wasn't able to bathe this night since the bathroom didn't actually have a bath inside of it. Plus, it smelled kind of off so I wasn't going to go in there anymore unless absolutely necessary. We glanced upwards at the dimly lit ceiling before Temari turned out the light next to the bed. I took off my kimono and relaxed in the garments I wore underneath. Neither of us got underneath the blankets for they were slightly questionable, and it was much too hot tonight. I succumbed to the thought of sleep and let my thoughts drift me away until the morning.


End file.
